1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wire connector for connecting a plurality of insulated wires with electric contact members for using in electronic circuits for electronic communication equipments.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The wire connectors are generally configured such that connection of a bundle of wires can be made in the form of pin-to-socket connection at the terminal ends thereof.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, a conventional wire connector 2 is shaped so that a partition wall 3 is positioned between the upper body 4 and the lower body 5. A plurality of partition walls 6 are formed with the bodies 4, 5, defining a plurality of separate cavities 11 in which electric contact members 7 made of a suitable metal such as copper are mounted. The conductive core of the insulated wire 8 and the electric contact member 7 can be electrically connected by pressing each insulated wire 8 into the projection 9 of the corresponding electric contact member 7. This causes a piercing of the insulation of the wire and gives rise to contact between the conductive metal core of the wire and the electric contact member at the projection 9. The pins 10 are inserted into the cavities 11 and connected to the terminal socket ends 12 of the electric contact members 7.
However, this type of conventional wire connectors have the disadvantage that the wires 8 must be connected by hand, one at a time, and there is no means for electrically and reliably connecting the insulated wires 8 to the electric contact members 7 and thereafter firmly maintaining the connection of the wires 8 and the electric contact members 7. Therefore, the electrical connection can easily fail. Also, in order to change or test for failed electrical connections or to test the circuits of the lines in the wire connector to be connected by the pin, the wire connector has to be disassembled and then the wire can be changed or be tested. This is a time consuming and inefficient operation. During disassembling and changing or testing the wire, the other wires 8 may be subjected to any external forces or a short circuit, and cross-talk of voices or noise in the lines may occurred. This may cause difficulties to other users.
Also, some users have required a wire connector to connect a wire to a wire, but there is no wire connector in the form of wire-to-wire connection in the prior art which provides secure, reliable connections as well as easy releasability for maintenance or testing.